Down The Rabbit Hole
by Flaming Trails
Summary: Sometimes, reading books can lead to very embarrassing situations. Victor kidfic with very mild crossover tones.


Down The Rabbit Hole

A Corpse Bride Fic

By Flaming Trails

Disclaimer: I don't own Corpse Bride. If I did, Victor would have taken off that jacket at least once. Mmmmm, vest. . . .

_Notes: This was inspired by a crossover I'm writing between __Corpse Bride__ and "American McGee's Alice." Victor remembers this incident in one chapter, and I decided to expand upon it. Elizabeth Austen is a nod to Jane Austen and her character Elizabeth Bennett (I'm currently reading __Pride & Prejudice & Zombies__). And yes, I put this up on March 5__th__ to coincide with Tim Burton's Alice movie._

"Pardon me, Mr. Mayhew, but have you seen Victor about?"

Mayhew looked up from his pipe, doing his best to stifle a round of coughs. Standing by his side was Miss Elizabeth Austen, Victor's latest governess. The young woman was wringing her hands, looking both worried and rather annoyed. "He's run off again, has he?" Mayhew said, once his throat was clear.

"Yes – I swear, nine times out of ten, you can leave him somewhere, and he'll be in the exact same spot when you come back, no matter how long you've been gone. But that tenth time. . . ." Elizabeth shook her head. "I hope he hasn't gone off chasing more butterflies. The mistress complains so much when he does that." In a softer voice, she added, "Of course, the mistress complains about _everything_."

Mayhew chuckled a little. "It's just how she is," he said, with the air of someone who had worked long for Mr. and Mrs. Van Dort and not quit in a huff. "She's not happy unless she's complaining about something."

"So I gathered from my predecessor." Elizabeth straightened her bonnet. "But you haven't seen Victor?"

"No, ma'am, I–"

Mayhew was cut off by another coughing fit. Elizabeth frowned at him as he slapped himself on the chest. "You really ought to stop smoking that awful pipe," she informed him. "That cough will be the death of you someday."

Mayhew knew she was probably right. But his addiction to the joys of tobacco was too great for him to even seriously contemplate quitting. "I'm all right," he told her, once he had his breath back. "I've lasted this long, haven't I?"

Elizabeth's reply was cut off by loud yapping. Both she and Mayhew looked to the right to see Scraps rushing up to them, barking like mad. "Well, hello there Scraps," Mayhew said, reaching down to give the dog a friendly pat. He didn't care much what Mrs. Van Dort said about "that horrid beast," he liked the little puppy. Not only because he liked dogs in general, but because he knew how much Victor loved the dog. That poor boy needed all the friends he could get. "Where's your master then?"

Scraps barked at him, sounding oddly fretful. Mayhew frowned a little. "What's wrong?"

"Has something happened to Victor?" Elizabeth added, starting to look a bit frightened.

Scraps barked twice, then turned and ran back the way he'd come. He paused a few strides away and barked again. "I think he means for us to follow him," Mayhew said, coughing briefly.

"Oh, dear, I hope he isn't hurt," Elizabeth said, hitching up her skirts so she could hurry after the little dog. Mayhew walked beside her, puffing at his pipe. "The poor thing, he looks so small and fragile. . .oh, and the mistress would be livid. . . ."

"I'm sure he's fine," Mayhew said, but privately, he was worried too. All he could think about was that incident back when Victor was six, when the poor boy had been stranded in this very field for a hour with a sprained ankle. _Well, at least this time I'm fairly certain Scraps was able to get our attention a lot earlier,_ he thought, biting down on the stem of his pipe. _Still, I really do hope it isn't as bad as that_.

Scraps led them over to a little hill near the edge of the field, where there were a number of rabbit burrows. One of them was a bit larger than the others – why, no one was quite sure. And in that very hole was –

"Help! Somebody! I'm stuck!"

Mayhew couldn't help himself – he burst out laughing. Victor was caught halfway in the hole, with his hindquarters sticking out. The boy was wriggling madly, unsuccessfully trying to work himself loose. Elizabeth had to clap her hands over her mouth to stifle her own giggles. "Oh, _Victor_. . . ."

"Miss Austen?" Victor suddenly went still. "Er – c-could you – could you p-please--"

"Don't worry, Victor," Mayhew said, finally managing to calm himself. "I'll get you out." He knelt by the boy's side and dug out the edge of the hole a little more before gripping Victor firmly by the waist. A quick tug, and Victor popped free. He was smeared with dirt and grass, but otherwise was no worse for wear. Scraps licked his face as Victor took a few deep breaths. "All right, my boy?" Mayhew asked, pausing a moment to cough.

"Y-yes," Victor said, turning pink under the dirt. "Thank you, Mayhew."

"Goodness, Victor, whatever possessed you to invade a rabbit hole?" Elizabeth said, taking out her handkerchief and wiping off his face.

Victor lowered his eyes, looking quite embarrassed. "I – I was t-trying to reach Wonderland."

Mayhew and Elizabeth stared for a moment. "You were what?" Mayhew repeated, rather puzzled.

"I was r-reading my new b-book, and – and the w-world it described sounded so l-lovely, that I. . . ." Victor looked up again briefly. "I saw this r-rabbit hole, and I thought, m-maybe, since it's s-so much bigger t-than the others. . . ."

Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. "I should have never left you alone with that book," she said. "I should have known your imagination would try to run away with you. Oh, you've ruined your new clothes." She tried in vain to rub the mud off Victor's sleeves. "Your mother is going to be very cross with you."

"I know, M-Miss Austen," Victor said, looking miserable. "I'm s-sorry for c-causing trouble."

"I'm just glad you weren't hurt." Elizabeth helped him to his feet. "Come on, let's go home and get you cleaned up."

Mayhew gently tousled Victor's hair. "You should be glad you didn't get to Wonderland," he said teasingly. "The Queen of Hearts might have ordered your head cut off."

"I wasn't planning on g-going to play croquet with her," Victor protested. "I thought I would s-spend some time at the tea party, with the H-Hatter and the March Hare. I think I'd enjoy it better than Alice did – I'm u-used to insults from the other boys." In a softer voice, he added, "I _did_ see a bunch of funny colors for a moment."

"I rather think that might have been from lack of air," was Elizabeth's opinion. "You really must be more careful, Victor."

Scraps suddenly started barking again, drawing everyone's attention. "What is it, boy?" Victor said, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

Scraps looked at him, then stared at a nearby fence. Everyone looked to see a grey striped cat perched upon one of the posts, watching them with its yellow-green eyes. It was a rather mangy-looking thing – thin enough for them to see its ribs, with fur so short it was barely there. It also had an unusually large head and paws. It tilted its head and meowed at them, showing yellowed teeth. Scraps barked at it again. "It's just an old cat, Scraps," Victor said, smirking a little. "I don't think it's even worth the bother to--"

He suddenly stopped, eyes widening. "What – Mayhew, Miss Austen, did you see that?"

"See what?" Elizabeth replied, looking from the cat to Victor in confusion.

"The cat – it – Mayhew?"

Mayhew felt decidedly peculiar. The cat – for a moment, it had looked like–

No. That was impossible. He shook his head once, firmly. "It's just some stray," he said, turning away. "We'd better be off before it decides to follow us and your mother has a fit."

"But I thought I saw. . . ." Victor started, then let the sentence trail off as he realized the adults weren't paying any attention to him anymore. He sighed and looked at Scraps. "I bet _you_ saw it," he muttered, to which Scraps barked and leaned against his leg. "Though perhaps I have been reading too much."

"Victor! Come along!" Mayhew called over his shoulder.

"Coming!"

They collected Victor's book and returned to the carriage without incident. Mayhew helped Victor and Elizabeth inside, then took the driver's seat to take them back to the house. He coughed for a bit, then looked back toward the field and the fence. The cat had left – a fact that made Mayhew very glad. That cat had unnerved him quite a bit just now. Made him start wondering about things that couldn't be possible. And whether Victor really had been so foolish as to try and pop down a rabbit hole. Because, just for a moment –

He could have sworn he'd seen that cat _grin_.

The End


End file.
